Social media power: Uproar causes change in airlines' military bag policies

Did you hear -- yes, probably you did -- about Delta Air Lines backing down from charging soldiers returning from Afghanistan $200 apiece to check a fourth bag? It's been a hot item on broadcast news and the Web. Here's the tale of why Delta backed down and apologized to the solidiers.

It's only fitting that this story should pop up the day before J.D. Power and Associates came out wth its annual airline customer satisfaction ratings. Overall, the industry's ratings are improving but big carriers are still less satisfying than smaller airlines. And guess what else: Customers don't like fees. Read more about the shocking results here !!

A Delta or Delta-like incident was bound to happen once airlines fell in love with separate fees for services that once were part of ticket prices. Some of the fees are reasonable enough to many travelers, but others -- like what you will pay for a third or fourth bag -- seem to us to be gouging. Now Delta has learned what happens when lower-level airport personnel don't have the authority to waive the fees when they are ridiculous and the customer is being victimized -- and then someone puts it all on his Facebook page. Think this embarrassment will lead to lower fees? No chance -- most airlines can't survive using the old "business model."